imagesCompact_20110531_233728_87083.jpg (Photo : www.szbike.org)
Provincial Statistics Bureau Deputy Director Ye Qing's short tweet yesterday, "Ai! My bike is gone again" caused quite a stir. Ye Qing, who over the last two weeks had two bikes stolen from the same subway station, called for the establishment of free bicycle storage system for subway riders.
Deputy Director Ye Qing follows what he calls the "3510 Rule" which states: if the destination is within 3 kilometers, you walk; if the destination is within 5 kilometers, you ride a bike but if the destination is 10 or more kilometers away, you take a car.
Yesterday, he posted two pictures to his Weibo account that explained where he parked and lost his bikes. In one picture, taken in the morning around 7:22 AM, one can see that he parked his silver-gray bike to a tree next to the Hongshan Metro Line 2 station. When he returned later that day at 11:29 PM, the bike was gone again.
He had been away from his bike for just four hours and it was stolen. His tweet reached hundreds of readers and soon an intense debate erupted. Many online readers called for greater security at subway stations.
One online reader named "netfm" said, "You should have used a bigger lock." At the same time, quite a few "sharp-eyed" online readers noticed that on November 28th, Ye Qing lost a blue colored bike at the same subway station entrance.
Last night, Ye Qing told reporters that after his first bike was stolen he did take stronger security precautions. In fact, according to Ye Qing, just a few days ago he spent 58 Yuan to buy a security lock. It was the biggest lock he's ever used. He had no idea that even with the new lock his bike would be stolen again.
Losing his bike twice at the same subway entrance has made Ye Qing somewhat afraid. Now, after taking the subway, he won't ride his bike anymore; he'll use another means of transportation.
During the interview, Ye Qing called for the establishment of a free bicycle parking area for subway riders. According to Ye Qing, by designating a specific area with security cameras where riders are able to park and lock their bikes, bike-loving subways riders like himself will be able to enjoy the subway-bike connection. Indeed, says Ye Qing, "achieving this would be worth losing ten bikes."
